Curriculum for Master of Arts in Teaching Music

Required Courses

Teacher candidates will reflect on their identities, inquire into the experience of others, and examine individual, interpersonal, institutional, and systemic barriers that limit educational opportunities and outcomes for many students. The course draws on history, policy, theory, and praxis to enable candidates to draw from students' cultural, religious, family, intellectual, and personal assets in strategies that effectively support all students' personal and academic success in a diverse society.

3.0 Credit(s)

This course considers the application of psychological principles to educational theory and practice. Candidates explore the many ways of thinking about knowledge, teaching, and learning. Major theories of learning and development are introduced, and consistent themes and concepts are identified.

3.0 Credit(s)

This course explores teaching strategies for managing a secondary classroom and the standards found in Connecticut's Common Core of Teaching that pertain to classroom management. Candidates learn practical approaches for the establishment of procedures and routines. This course is designed for teachers and candidates in training who are interested in effective classroom management and the promotion of a safe, orderly, and inviting place in which to teach and learn. The course will initially focus on creating a positive learning environment where negative, distracting behaviors are less likely to occur. Candidates will gain the insight, knowledge, and skills that will enable them to cope with classroom disruptions and will incorporate a variety of techniques that are appropriate for the secondary level. Candidates will explore methods and systems of management that will allow them to move beyond traditional rewards, punishments, bribes, and threats.

3.0 Credit(s)

Literature, rehearsal technique, conducting technique, and basic arranging skills for teaching secondary students.

3.0 Credit(s)

This course focuses on current practices, models, and strategies for the music education of children and adolescents with exceptionalities, as well as differentiation for all students. Issues surrounding inclusion are considered, as well as inclusive practices, models, and strategies. Exceptionalities studied include all areas defined by Public Law 94-142 and Public Law 101-476. Includes a service-learning experience working with adolescents with exceptionalities.

3.0 Credit(s)

Musicianship skills, musical repertoire, pedagogy, and problem-solving for teaching music in prekindergarten through grade six.

3.0 Credit(s)

Musicianship skills, musical repertoire, pedagogy, and problem-solving for teaching music in secondary schools.

3.0 Credit(s)

Tools, methods, and pedagogy for incorporating technology into general music classes and all types of ensemble experiences. Tools incorporated include digital audio workstations (DAWs), notation software, theory and ear training software, musical collaboration applications, and other relevant applications.

3.0 Credit(s)

An examination of approaches to curriculum and assessment in music education, informed by the history, philosophy, psychology, and sociology of music education. Pedagogies such as Dalcroze, Gordon, Kodaly, and Orff are studied. Students will create sequential lesson plans, unit plans, and curriculum pieces that actively engage students in creating, performing, responding or connecting while developing significant musical knowledge, skills, and understandings. Students will design informal and formal assessments that effectively gauge students' development of musical knowledge, skills, and contextual understandings.

3.0 Credit(s)

A weekly seminar to support candidates for certification as they negotiate the demands of student teaching.

3.0 Credit(s)

Student teaching clinical experience in music education, in conjunction with a weekly student teaching seminar, is the culminating experience of the certification program. Clinical experience addresses Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) standards. The application for a clinical experience is submitted to the Director of Clinical Practice the semester prior to the semester in which the candidate is placed. Student teaching is conducted only in the fall and spring semesters, and is twelve weeks. A student teaching fee is assessed.

6.0 Credit(s)

This course focuses on a disciplinary approach to literacy instruction and the habits of mind through which experts in the discipline communicate in reading and writing. Incorporating evidence-based methods to differentiate instruction for today's diverse learners, course participants use multimodal and digital pedagogies to reflect on their practice as they develop standards-based lessons, into which academic and domain-specific language is embedded. Required for secondary education and literacy candidates.

3.0 Credit(s)

In addition to the courses listed above, take 3 of the following;